Finance Committee Meeting Minutes 3/19/21
Finance Committee Minutes for 3-19-21
Attendees – Rebecca Wolin - Chair
Jon Sylbert
The meeting started at 4:30 pm
Michele Miller had requested this meeting to discuss the minutes but failed to attend. Emails were sent to her trying to find out if she was going to be late. We did not get a response back until the meeting was over.
Agenda items to be discussed:
Finance Committee Meeting
Agenda
Finance Committee Roles and Responsibilities
Budget items
Time reserved for topics not anticipated by the chair
Rebecca and Jon spoke about the emergency meeting the select board called at the request of Shawn Tryon to complain about the March 17th, 2021 meeting and what was being said about him including threats.
The selectboard and Shawn accused the finance committee of going into executive session to talk about Shawn and the fire company. The finance committee executive session was confidential, and it was certainly not about Shawn or the fire company. It is unexcusable and inappropriate for Shawn, Melissa, and Steve and Don representing the selectboard to jump to such conclusions.
Jon made a motion to read the response the finance committee sent to the selectboard amd an article to publish in the Monterey News. Rebecca seconded the meeting, the motion passed.
Following are the two letters
To the Selectboard
Dear Select Board, please note that the Monterey Fire Company, Ltd. is a private charity and not under the Select Board’s jurisdiction.
Also please note that you cannot prevent communications being sent by public officials or any member of the public to any public officials in any form. All public officials and employee contacts are a matter of public record and are available to the public.
In fact, there are contact forms on the town website for Chief Tryon and every other town board or committee, as well as for appointed officials such as the accountant and treasurer. The policy mentioned in your email below is null and void.
Furthermore, no matters in your email attachment fall under your jurisdiction. Defamation is not a crime; it is a tort matter for the civil courts. Here is the relevant quote from the email dated March 18, 2021, subject: Select Board emergency Meeting: "Request made for an emergency meeting by the Director of Operations/Fire Chief to discuss slanderous accusations."
Police matters fall under the jurisdiction of the police department.
Finally, as for the purpose of the Finance Committee’s executive session, this is privileged information, but I do wonder who will be apologizing when the minutes are finally released under the Open Meeting Law.
Sincerely,
Rebecca Wolin, Chair
Jonathan Sylbert
Finance Committee
Monterey
Dear Select Board, please note that the Monterey Fire Company, Ltd. is a private charity and not under the Select Board’s jurisdiction.
Also please note that you cannot prevent communications being sent by public officials or any member of the public to any public officials in any form. All public officials and employee contacts are a matter of public record and are available to the public.
In fact, there are contact forms on the town website for Chief Tryon and every other town board or committee, as well as for appointed officials such as the accountant and treasurer. The policy mentioned in your email below is null and void.
Furthermore, no matters in your email attachment fall under your jurisdiction. Defamation is not a crime; it is a tort matter for the civil courts. Here is the relevant quote from the email dated March 18, 2021, subject: Select Board emergency Meeting: "Request made for an emergency meeting by the Director of Operations/Fire Chief to discuss slanderous accusations."
Police matters fall under the jurisdiction of the police department.
Finally, as for the purpose of the Finance Committee’s executive session, this is privileged information, but I do wonder who will be apologizing when the minutes are finally released under the Open Meeting Law.
Sincerely,
Jon
Jonathan Sylbert
Finance Committee
Monterey
Letter for the Monterey News
Dear Steve, it has come to the Finance Committee’s attention that the Monterey News intends to publish the Motion Adopted March 18, 2021 made by the Select Board. (See attachment.)
Rebecca and I would like to submit a response, which has already been submitted to the Select Board, in the same April issue of the Monterey News.
(The original email from the Select Board and my response is attached in the thread below.)
The text for publication in the Monterey News is as follows. (If this is confusing in any way, please let me know.)
TEXT FOR ARTICLE***
On March 18, 2021, the Select Board called an emergency meeting. Here is the text of their agenda:
Select Board Emergency Meeting Agenda
Select Board Emergency Meeting
March 18, 2021 9:30am
Agenda:
Request made for an emergency meeting by the Director of Operations/Fire Chief to discuss slanderous accusations
On March 19, 2021, the Select Board sent the following email to the Finance Committee at 6:31 am:
Good Morning,
Please find attached a motion approved at the emergency meeting held yesterday.
Also adopted at yesterday’s meeting is a policy that all communications directed to Shawn Tryon in his capacity as Director of Operations and Fire Chief must now go through the Town Administrator and Select Board.
On March 19, 2021, Mr. Sylbert emailed the following response to the Select Board, and, at the Finance’s Committee’s public meeting later that same day, Rebecca Wolin read, approved, and signed on to this email:
Dear Select Board, please note that the Monterey Fire Company, Ltd. is a private charity and not under the Select Board’s jurisdiction.
Also please note that you cannot prevent communications being sent by public officials or any member of the public to any public officials in any form. All public officials and employee contacts are a matter of public record and are available to the public.
In fact, there are contact forms on the town website for Chief Tryon and every other town board or committee, as well as for appointed officials such as the accountant and treasurer. The policy mentioned in your email below is null and void.
Furthermore, no matters in your email attachment fall under your jurisdiction. Defamation is not a crime; it is a tort matter for the civil courts. Here is the relevant quote from the email dated March 18, 2021, subject: Select Board emergency Meeting: "Request made for an emergency meeting by the Director of Operations/Fire Chief to discuss slanderous accusations."
Police matters fall under the jurisdiction of the police department.
Finally, as for the purpose of the Finance Committee’s executive session, this is privileged information, but I do wonder who will be apologizing when the minutes are finally released under the Open Meeting Law.
Sincerely,
Rebecca Wolin, Chair
Jonathan Sylbert
Finance Committee
Monterey
END TEXT FOR ARTICLE***
Another meeting was schedule for the following Wednesday at 4:30
Meeting adjourned at 5:15